senate democrats can't come up with votes to lift a ban on gays serving openly in the military. afghanistan debate a. new book cites fierce divisions within the obama administration for strategy for winning the war. and as bedbugs rattle the northeast, experts and exexterminators plot a counterattack. this is the "cbs morning news" for wednesday, september 22nd, this is the "cbs morning news" for wednesday, september 22nd, 2010 captioning funded by cbs good morning, everyone on a wednesday. good to see you. i'm terrell brown in for betty nguyen this morning. the senate majority leader says he won't wait to try to lift a ban on gays openly serving in the military planning to bring it up after the election but some activists say the democrats missed their best chance to end don't ask don't tell yesterday. joel brown reports. >> reporter: senate democrats took a big political gamble and

lost. >> the motion is not agreed to. >> reporter: their election-year effort to repeal the military's don't ask don't tell policy failed by four votes. democrats tried to include the repeal in a military spending bill that's needed to fund operations in iraq and afghanistan. a tactic that outraged republicans. >> this is a blatant political ploy in order to try to galvanize the political base of the other side, which is facing a losing election. >> reporter: democrats were counting on the support of moderate republicans like susan collins of maine, who thinks gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly in the armed forces. but, she sided with her party on the proposal vote. with democrats likely to lose seats in the midterm elections, this may have been their best shot for a while at overturning don't ask, don't tell, something president obama has promised to do. military leaders say the repeal effort should wait at least until a pentagon study on its

impossible comes out in december. >> i don't know yet what the impact on recruiting and retention will be and our combat readiness. >> reporter: for david hall, change can't come soon enough. he was thrown out of the air force for being gay. >> just like in battle sometimes you lose the fight but you look forward and you regroup and i think that's what people will be doing. >> reporter: he hopes democrats will bring the issue up again after election day. joel brown, cbs news, washington. afghanistan nato officials denied taliban claims that shot down a helicopter that killed nine coalition troops mostly he americans. the chopper went down yesterday in southern afghanistan, the worst year of the war for nato forces, with at least 530 dead. a new book from reporter bob woodward show the president's advisers split over strategy in afghanistan. it depicts and administration deeply torn over the war even as the president agreed to triple

troop levels there. woodward quotes richard holbrooke, the president's representative for afghanistan. he apparently says the current strategy against the taliban can't work. would ward also president says mr. obama agreed to send more troops to afghanistan but insisted on a timetable for withdrawl because he feared he might, quote, lose the democratic party. most stocks in asia edged up this morning. ashley, good morning you to. >> good morning. asian stock markets ad veinsed slightly this morning in light training. the nikkei bucked the trend slipping about a third of a percent and the hang seng was mostly higher. of yesterday, the dow rose by seven and the nas deck fell six points. another member of the president's economic team is leaving. the president's top economic adviser plans to leave at the end of the year and return to harvard university. he's the third top-level economic adviser to the

president to leave since july. meanwhile, following his policy making meeting yesterday the federal reserve made clear it is prepared to take further steps to jump-start the economy. fed officials have said that means purchasing mortgage bonds and treasury notes and the fed said it will likely keech the benchmark interest rate near zero an extended period of time. the economic recovery struggles, the global airline industry is doing better than expected. profits for this year could add up to nearly $9 billion. that's more than triple the earlier estimates. it's a big rebound from last year, when the industry lost nearly $10 billion. and caldwell banker with its annual list of the most expensive and affordable american housing markets. the most costly city is newport beach, california. the least expensive is detroit. a four-bedroom, two-bath home in newport beach goes for $1.8

million, while the same house in detroit would cost you just $68,000. terrell that, is a big difference. >> very big difference. the mortgage crisis going on in detroit and the property values there falling nearly 80% is a really tough time for detroit right now. >> it is. >> ashley morrison in new york, thank you so much. meanwhile president obama flies to new york this afternoon to attend a world summit at the united nations addressing the assembly tomorrow. protesters gathered yesterday. iran's president ahmadinejad spoke to the asemmy inside while it happened. tonight, president obama will step away from the u.n. and appear at a major fund-raiser for democratic congressional candidates and he's not the only obama pitching in for the run-up quote, no political animal but to jump head on into the political fray. the white house is about to

unleash one of its biggest stars onto the campaign trail. next next month, first lady michelle obama will headline at least nine democratic fund-raisers in six states to raise money for a handful of candidates facing tight re-election battles on democratic turf. among them, wisconsin senator russ feingold, who passed up a chance to campaign with president obama earlier this month. and california senate barbara boxer. >> i think she will go out and make a forceful and positive case for what this administration has done. >> reporter: the white house insists mrs. obama is eager to hit the road and democrats are just as eager to have her. polls show she is more popular than her husband. >> michelle obama has, i think, enormous power in energy sdoising the base and reenergizing the base, where that's necessary. >> reporter: the first lady has scored points with americans through her efforts to curb childhood obesity and her role as a mom and fashion icon.

liberals believe that star power could help shrink the growing enthusiasm gap among voters. >> even if you are not necessarily a big fan of barack obama's presidency and policies, a lots of people still like michelle obama as a person, a more, and role model. >> reporter: come november democrats hope mrs. obama will leave up to the same nickname she earned during the 2008 presidential campaign, "the closer." the white house says don't expect mrs. obama to go negative. instead, she will focus on what democrats can do for the future. terrell, back to you. >> tara mergener in washington this morning, thank you so much. an american war hero finally publicly honored for courage more than 40 years after his death. at the white house yesterday president nted the medal of honor t of the airport master sergeant. in 1968 he died saving the lives of three wounded comrades when soldiers overran a top-secret

u.s. radar station in laos. on the morning news an 11-year-old babysitter charged with murder. plus city officials are arrested in a salary scandal in bell, california. first a preview of the cbs evening news tonight. as questions about the quality of what we eat continue, we'll look at a food safety system full of gaps and redund sees, why haven't the problems that led to the salmonella outbreak been fixed? we'll investigate tonight, only on the cbs evening news. [ female announcer ] stay once...

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people who live in the working-class suburb of los angeles. sandra hughes reports this morning. >> reporter: finally the people in bell, california have something to celebrate, former city manager robert rizzo, who was being paid twice the salary of the president, was arrested tuesday. he was charged with corruption and misuse of funds, along with seven other city officials. >> corruption on steroids. >> reporter: a battering ram was used to break down the mayor, oscar hernandez. the city manager, who resigned, was making almost $800,000. his assistant was making $376,000. current and former city council members who worked part time made $100,000 a year. >> they used the tax dollars collected from the hard-working citizens of bell as their own piggybank, which they then looted at will. >> reporter: angry residents have demanded payback after

accusations that bell city officials hiked property taxes, sewer fees, and allegedly targeted hispanics for moek violations and towing fees to raise money for their inflated salaries. the state is forcing bell to come up with money to refund overpaid property taxes. people in this small community have a median income of about $30,000. the police chief who made almost half a million a year and also resigned, has not been accused of wrongdoing and was not arrested. >> it's not illegal in the state of california, especially in a charster city, for people to get paid ridiculous sums of money. >> reporter: it may not be illegal, but to the residents of this town, with 16% unemployment, it certainly immoral. sandra hughes, cbs news. an 11-year-old babysitter charged with murder in georgia. a 2-year-old died late saturday. an autopsy found she had blunt force injuries on her head and body. the babysitter claimed the child

fell out of bed. the victim's mother said the babysitter's mother should feel the same pain. >> i hope her daughter gives life because she took my daughter away. my daughter was 2 years old. my daughter doesn't deserve to be dead. >> the mother of the 11-year-old babysitter may also be charged in the child's death. straight ahead, your wednesday morning weather forecast. in sports, the first team qualifies for major baseball's host season. we'll be right back. look at all this stuff for coffee. oh there's tons. french presses, expresso tampers, filters. it can get really complicated. not nearly as complicated as shipping it, though. i mean shipping is a hassle. not with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. if it fits it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. that is easy. best news i've heard all day! i'm soooo amped! i mean not amped. excited. well, sort of amped. really kind of in between. have you ever thought about decaf? do you think that would help? yeah. priority mail flat rate box shipping starts at $4.95, only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship.

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here's a look at weather in some cities, new york partly cloudy, 87. miami, thunderstorms 90. 86, partly cloudy in denver. los angeles, 70 and partly cloudy. time for a check of the national forecast. the latest satellite bike tour shows clear skies over the southeast and southwest. not so clear in the northern plains, scattered clouds and overcast skies from the northwest and a large area of storm clouds moving into the great lakes region and the northeast. later today, rain and thunderstorms found in the northern plains, great lakes and desert southwest. the southeast remains mostly sunny and hot. west coast looking great. the southeast is starting to warm up. in sports, minnesota is the first team to make the baseball playoffs. the twins were behind but scored four in the eighth to beat cleveland 6-4 giving minnesota

the american league central division title. in the national league, a three-run homer against atlanta boosting the phillies' lead. in the nfl michael vick officially the starting quarterback for philadelphia. the controversial vick led the eagles to a win over detroit last sunday. the coach chose him yesterday saying monday kevin cobb would be the quarterback. and the jets wide receiver could fancy suspension. he was driving -- charged, rather, with driving while intoxicated early yesterday. he will not start sunday against miami. the coach will decide how much he plays. when we come back this morning, another look at our top stories plus the battle against bedbugs. experts show off their newest weapon. i needed more customers, so i got my nephew to build a website. i hired someone to make my website...

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on the "cbs morning news," today's weather. it is the last day of summer and the heat still in the southeast. northern plains have been experiencing autumn-like weather the past week. severe storms on the move again in the northern plains. another look at the top stories this morning how depend senate democrats do trying to overturn the ban on gays serving openly in the military? don't ask. they fell short yesterday but the majority leader harry r50ed says they will try again after the election. a new book says the obama white house was torn over debate over its war strategy. in utah a wildfire is 50% contained. evacuation orders for about 250 homes on the west side of the fire. but residents of about 200 homes are being allowed to return. a public library and in frederick county, maryland, the latest place hit with the bedbug

problem. the urbana regional library was shut down after a worker spotted one in a book. there's an all-out war against them in this country. a summit wrapped up near chicago yesterday. cynthia bowers reports. >> reporter: with marquis stores like nike in midtown manhattan shut down due to bedbugs why would a big name hotel knowingly let them check in? because they are the featured attraction at the first ever north american bedbug summit. >> a distinctive smell -- >> reporter: more than 50 exhibitors crammed into a small ballroom. all touting solutions to a creepy and increasingly lucrative epidemic. >> it's definitely exploding at levels we haven't seen in the past. >> reporter: last year americans spent more than $258 million trying to get rid of bedbugs, more than double the 2006 level. a number sure to rise as fear like the infessation spreads.

detective bedbug propss its dogs can sniff out the critters in a matter of minutes. >> search. >> reporter: all you are doing is delivering the bad news, not killing the bad bugs. >> no, but the bad news is tough to give. >> reporter: companies are cashing in on our sdpra operation pushing everything from pesticides to luggage wrappers. >> you will eliminate all bedbugs. >> reporter: even a concoction that smells like us -- to help capture the blood-thirsty buggers. if you hesitate about bringing came cals into your house. there are other options the first, you can freeze them. or you can fry the suckers. the temperature in this room is more than 130 degrees. high heat at a high cost. as much as several thousand dollars, depending on the size of the house. >> we have a good solution to bedbug treatment but needs to be more affordable. >> reporter: to take the bite out of the bill, as well as the bugs.

paris hilton's business trip to japan derailed. immigration officials said this morning they are denying her entry into the country. she arrived at the airport last night with her sister, questioned by authorities upon arrival and, in the wake of her drug case on monday, hilton pled guilty to a misdemeanor drug charge in las vegas. some kids in greenville, wisconsin want to give peace a chance. yesterday, hundreds of students at greenville elementary school got together to form a giant human peace sign to get kids to think about peace on world peace day. coming up this morning on the "early show" finding the right pair of jeans for your body type. we'll talk about it a bit later on. i'm terrell. this is the "cbs morning news."

words alone aren't enough. our job is to listen and find ways to help workers who lost their jobs to the spill. i'm iris cross. we'll keep restoring the jobs, tourist beaches, and businesses impacted by the spill. we've paid over $400 million in claims and set up a $20 billion independently-run claims fund. i was born in new orleans. my family still lives here. i'm gonna be here until we make this right.

the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy will remain the law for now. tuesday, senate republicans blocked an effort to repeal the ban on gays serving openly in the military. 56 lawmakers voted in favor of advancing the legislation but democrats neitherred 60 to push it through. congress holding hearing today to look into the recent outbreak of salmonella and the nationwide recalls of half a billion eggs. tainted eggs linked to a pair

of iowa farms made more than 1,000 sick. lawmakers want to make everything is down to prevent future problems. we say good morning, to howard bernstein. had additional light coming in. >> tomorrow is the full fall harvest moon there but yes and jupiter was just to the left of it and it's still out there i believe for a little while longer. had clear skies once again overnight. you can see on the satellite and radar any showers and storms back through detroit, passing chicago, indianapolis, st. louis. that front will get closer. we may, if we're lucky get rain. our rain deficit is almost 7- inch in d.c. indy, lexington, st. louis, even detroit and buffalo are all in the 70s this morning and that warm summer- like air is headed our way. fall begins tonight at 11:90. today upper 80s to low 90s. 81 by noon. a chance for an afternoon

thunderstorm in spots. 89 for the drive home and humidity is creeping up as well. not nearly as pretty as yesterday but this heatwave will only be a few days long. >> we're not complaining. no major incidents at this time. road work at powder mandeville. southbound at 199. moving out to 78 southbound. we have more construction northbound at falls road. southbound at gorge village avenue in virginia 66. man, the lane's look good evening. wide open there to inside the beltway. back to you. fashion week in new york city is the industry's largest event, attracting the world's top designers and models and fashionistas. it just ended but not before a woman got a chance to stroll her stuff on the cat walk.

eur. >> reporter: it's the super bowl of hair. >> but at this super bowl they have a different type of gridiron. >> we're going to iron the hair out and crimp it with a crimp iron. >> reporter: diane stevens owns two body spas in maryland. >> thereby beautiful for her face shape and eyes and our designer will love it. >> will you love it? >> oh, yes. >> reporter: designer of project runway's final lists hand picked diane to style the models showcasing her new spring collection. >> just showing the same vision in the hair that i have in my clothes. it still has the edginess. that's what us women are. we're soft and feminine. >> reporter: it's even rougher in africa, however, diane is equally at home there. a few years ago she taught 300

poor women to style hair and earn a living. >> it's basic necessities. it's actually eating and having their child educated. >> reporter: next spring sara is going back to sierra leone. >> each women will have $300 worth of products to start her own business. >> she has her own foundation, mentoring young girls. >> we need them smart. >> diane is very excited about things she has learned at fashion week and is hoping to give that knowledge to the girls of sierra leone. in new york city, i'm armondo trueell. >> check it out under district news at wusa9.com.